Siphon.



E. S. CHASE.

SIPHON.

APPLIOATION rzLBD 111111.11, 1013.

1,078,995. Patented N0v.18,1913.

-.u1.uMnl^ vLANonlzAr-n co., WASHING c.

E. S. CHASE.

SIPHON.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.11. 1913.

1,078,995. Patented Nov.18,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

El l

STATES 4PATENT anion.

EDWARD S. CHASE, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'IO PACIFIC FLUSH TANK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SIPI-ION.

To all 'whom it may concer/i:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. CHASE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inr Siphons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the. accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n apparatus of the kind known as dosing devices for sprinkling lilters and more particularly to devices of the kind stated which are adapted for use in connection with filtration and sewage purification systems in which the liquid is discharged by intermittently operating siphons upon iilter or contact beds through the medium of a plurality of spray nozzles.

The object of this invention is to improve and simplify the construction for systems of this type, and especially to provide features whereby, as compared with the constructions heretofore used, the friction of the liquid within the several pipes is greatly re duced, by the elimination of bends or angles in the discharge pipe leading from the siphons to the sprinklers.

It has been found by experiment that the friction loss which occurs within the discharge pipes due to the bends heretofore present in such discharge pipe tends to reduce the static head of the liquid to a very appreciable extent, thus reducing also the efficiency of the entire system. In prior devices of this kind it has been necessary, in order to offset the effect of this loss by friction, to increase the size of the pipes and littings, thus greatly increasing the cost of construction. In small installations the effect of the friction loss is very marked, and in such cases the efficiency of an installation is largely lessened by the friction within the pipes due to the particular arrangement thereof heretofore employed.

My invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

In the drawingswFigure l is a plan view of a portion of a filtration or sewage purification system, showing a single discharge Siphon located within the main receptacle, a

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 6, 1913.

.Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Serial No. 752,267.

portion of a filter or contact bed separate from the main receptacle, andy a discharge pipe line leading thereto from the siphon, provided with branch pipes, risers and nozzles; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, the liquid t0 be filtered or purified, as the case may be, flows into the main receptacle A of the system from an exterior source of supply. The drawings illustrate an apparatus for the purification of sewage by the use of a filter bed, and in each apparatus, adjacent to said main receptacle, separated therefrom and located at a level below that of said receptacle, is a filter bed B, consisting of a layer of crushed stone, or similar subtance, (indicated by dotted line in Fig. 2) upon which the liquid is sprayed. The liquid so sprayed passes downwardly into or through the said layer, to effect the removal ofthe impurities from the liquid in a manner common in sewage treatment systems of this type.

Within the main receptacle A is a discharge siphon C, the same comprising an inverted bell-shaped intake limb c supported upon the concrete floor of the receptacle and having its lower rim at a short distance above such floor, and a vertical discharge limb c', the upper or receiving end of which is located within the intake limb c, adjacent to the top wall thereof, said discharge limb extending downwardly through the floor of the receptacle. Said intake limb c is further provided with a U-shapcd vent pipe D comprising a long leg d, communicating with the intake leg at its top and an upwardly opening shorter leg d. Said vent pipe l) is adapted to admit air to the interior of the siphon when the level of the liquid falls sullieiently to uncover the upper part of the bend at d2 of the vent pipe, thus stopping the action of the siphon. The vent pipe D is preferably of the type shown and fully described in the prior U. S. Letters Patent to Miller, ilo. 1,037,791, but may be of any other design. Said intake limb c is further provided with an auxiliary or blowoil' trap E, adapted to start the siphon in operation to discharge the liquid from the main receptacle when the liquid has reached a predetermined level therein. This auxiliary zelf or blow-ofi' trap illustrated is of the type shown and described in the prior U. S. Letters Patent to Miller, No. 871,427, and comprises a vertical leg E that rises exterior to the intake limb o and is connected with the interior thereof adjacent to its top, a similar vertical leg E2 arranged parallel to the leg E and connected at its lower end with the lower end of the leg E by a U-iitting e. An extension member e extends vertically upward from said leg E? and. has telescopic` engagement t-herewith. A vertical pipe E3 extends through the bottom wall ofthe reoeptacle and connects with the ydischarge pipe F, said pipe E3 being also provided withy an extension member e2'. A horizontal pipe e3 joins the said member e2 with the member e at a point substantially midway of its height..

The purposev of the form of blow-olf trap islto start the siphon in operation when the level of the liquid within the receptacle has reached the desired height, and operates as follows: A quantity of water is confined within the lowery portions of the legs E and E2 and acts as a seal to prevent the premature. venting of the siphon. liquid rises in the receptacle the air pressure within the'leg c of the siphon is increased and likewise the pressure upon the water within the said legs of the blow-0E trap. When. the liquid in the receptacle reaches the predetermined level the air pressure will be sufficient to force the water from the legs Ef and: E2, and discharge it throughV the members e, c3, e2 and E3 into the pipe rihe seal being thus broken, air will be admittedto the siphon through the extension member e', acting to vent the siphon andy start the same in operation. The purpose' of the extension member is to provide a means of varying the height of liquid in thereceptacle at which the siphon will operate. This height will obviously depend upon the position of the horizontal member e2, since a higher level of the liquid in the receptacle will be required to break the seal in the trap when the height of the extension member is increased. A lowering ofthe extension member will likewise efiect the discharging of the siphon at av lower level of the liquid in the receptacle.

Connected with the lower extremity of the discharge` limb o of the siphon, is a discharge pipe F, shown as connected with the discharge limb by an elbow fitting Gr. Said discharge pipe is, by preference, made of slightly greater diameter than said discharge limb, but it need not necessarily be larger in diameter than said discharge limb. Said pipe extends into the filter bed B below the level of the top of the layer of crushed stone constituting the same. in the preferred arrangement ofthe pipe F illustrated, it extends centrally of the filter bed, from its As the.

margin adjacent to the receptacle to the opposite margin thereof, but it may be other.- wise arranged or located relatively to the bed. Extending laterally from said pipe F isa plurality of branch pipes H, also located ,Y in the filter bed B.

Said branch pipes areusually arranged in pairs., said pairs in such instances being spaced evenly apart through--V out the length of the pipe F. Said branch pipes H are considerably less in diameter 'gthan the said main pipe F, and may, if desiredL or foundV necessary, be severally pro- V vided with. shut-0H valvesL` adjacent tothe said pipe F. Extendingupwardley from each of said branch pipes is-a plurality of upright pipes or risers I, of a diametersomewhat less than that of the branch pipes. 'Fhe said risers. i extend at their upper endsabove the level of the'layer'of crushed ston'eand. are providedv lat such upper ends with spray' nozzles z' of suitable design. Irisers with respect toxeach other is suchthat the liquid may be sprayed in a uniform. manner over the surface of. the bed'. entire area. of the iilter bed is. provided with `a plurality of risers dispos-edl at uniform distances apart, accordingtothe area that. will be covered by the spray delivered from The arrangementy of these' the nozzles, and arranged in parallel rows, which are equally spaced' center to center from each other, each.v nozzle being thereby adapted to deliver the liquid: over an. equal area. 'Ehe distance apart and number of the nozzles and branch pipeswill necessarilj7 depend upon the static head of the liquid, or,

in other words, the liquid pressure to which the system is` subjected determines the area of the filter bed: that a: single nozzle will sprinkle, an di' hence the spacing apart of said nozzles.

ln order that an apparatus made a-s described may have the same efficiency as one Letters Patent toMillenrN'o. 727,991, under like conditions with respect to the size or capacity of the siphon itself, three factors need to. be considered, to wit, the height of the nozzles above the level of the lower end of the discharge limb o of the siphon, the cross-sectional area of the risers, and the fordy the same capacity of discharge as ob-V` .tains' m a like Siphon made in` accordance- Thus thev roo 'having its siphon made as shown inthe'prior n with said Miller Patent, No. 727,991, the combined cross-sectional areas of the riser will need to be not less than the cross-sectional area of the upwardly directed part of the discharge limb of the siphon, or, stated in a ditl'erent manner, the cross-sectional area oit one ot the risers multiplied by the number ot the risers must be, in general, equal to or be greater than the cross-sectional area of the discharge limb o of the siphon.

Referring to the construction ot' the Siphon shown in said Miller patent, a. deep seal or trap is provided which is formed by means ot a U-shaped bend at the lower extremity of the discharge limb, and a vertical return pipe parallel with the discharge limb of the siphon, extending upwardly to substantially the floor level of the main receptacle. At that point the vertical return pipe is bent through an angle of 90O and communicates at that point with a horizontal or downwardly inclined pipe, as the case may be, which is connected with a main pipe similar to the pipe F in my device.

2y my novel construction, the U-shaped bend at the lower extremity of the discharge limb of the Siphon and the vertical return pipe, which together form the trap or deep seal, are eliminated, and the risers are so arranged as to perform the same function previously performed by the eliminated parts. rlhe dimensions of the discharge pipe and risers will be determined in practice by the conditions existing in any particular apparatus, but in order to obtain an apparatus corresponding in capacity with one of like size, having its siphon made according to said Miller patent, said risers will have their height and combined cross-sectional areas generally equal to the height and cross-sectional arca of the pipe forming the vertical discharge pipe of the siplro-n trap shown in said Miller patent, due allowance being made for the greater discharge capacity obtained by the improved form of the apparatus.

rlhe horizontal pipe F, being connected directly with the discharge limb c ol the siphon, the liquid in my improved apparatus passes through one bend only, namely, the elbow (if, while in the prior construction it must pass through a 1800 U-shaped bend at the lower end of the discharge limb, a 90Q bend at the upper end of the vertical return pipe, and two bends ot less angle made necessary by a downwardly inclined pipe connecting the horizontal limb oit the vertical return pipe with the pipe correspending with the pipe F in my improved construction. The purpose ot' the U-shaped bend and vertical return pipe used in the prior construction referred to, is to form a trap or deep seal, which retained a sui'- icient head ot the liquid in the vertical and parallel limbs to seal the discharge or outlet portion of the siphon, thereby opposing the liquid head in the receptacle, the purpose being to prevent the siphon from being started in operation by the pressure of' the liquid in the receptacle, before the same has been lilled, and the siphon starting devices brought into action. By reason of the hercinbefore described construction and arrangement of the main pipe F and the risers, it is obvious that they serve the same purpose as the U-shaped deep seal trap oit the Miller Patent, No. 727,991, namely, to form a deep seal or trap, having the same function as the said deep seal or trap described in said Miller patent.

rlhe operation oit my improved form of apparatus applied in connection with purification plants ol the sprinkler type is as follows: Assuming that the receptacle A has just been emptied by the siphon, the liquid continues to llow into the receptacle and fills the same to the predetermined level, when the siphon is vented by means of the automatically-operated blow-off trap ll in a manner as described above. The venting of the siphon breaks the seal within the intake limb c and the liquid is forced upwardly therein and through the discharge limb c, and thence through the transmission pipe l" and branch pipes lil, upwardly into the risers I and is finally discharged through the nozzles z' in the form of a spray over the entire surface of the crushed stone in the filter bed. When the level ot the liquid in the receptacle A approaches the bottom thereof the upper part ol the bend at Z2 o'l the vent pipe D is uncovered, allowing air to be admitted to the intake limb ot the siphon, thus interrupting its action. The liquid again lills the receptacle, there being' retained a quantity ot' air within the intake limb by reason oi the fact that the blow-oil' trap and the vent pipe D are sealed. The air is further prevented from escaping' through the discharge limb c by reason oit a quantity of the liquid that remains in the same, the transmission pipe F, the branch pipes Il, and the risers I, the pressure of which tends to oppose that of the liquid in the receptacle, and to prevent the siphon from heilig prematurely set in operation by the pressure ot the liquid in the receptacle.

The advantages of my improved apparatus over prior devices oil like character lies chiefly in the reduction et the friction of the liquid in the pipes, by the elimination ot several bends therein. ln sprinkling systems such as described, in which the operation is entirely dependent upon atmospheric and hydrostatic pressure, losses by friction within the pipes act to greatly reduce the elliciency at the nozzles and of the entire system, and such losses are due to the decrease in the liquid head occasioned by the loss of head due to the liquid friction withinl the pipesl is, however, proportionally greater owingto the smaller pipes used.

' For this reason the use of installations of small` sizes has not been practical in many cases. By the use of my improvedv construction, the small sprinkling Isystems are rendered' equally efficient with thef larger systems of the same type.

A material saving in the cost of construcii tion is obtainedV by the use of my improved device in that smaller pipes and fittings` may beused, whereas in the prior construction larger pipes were necessary in order to reduce as. much possible thel friction loss. A; further saving is obtained by the elimination of a considerable-portion of the piping-- and fittings necessarily used in prior forms of construction.

A'. sprinkling systemy constructed in the manner hereinbefore described, affords a distinct advantage over similar systems having a Siphon of the form described in the beforementioned Miller Patent No. 727,991, in cases in which it is desired to increase the depth of the crushed stone in the Contact bedv by adding an additional layer ofV the material. Such an operation necessarily in volves an increase in the length ofthe risers.

This may beA easily accomplished in cases where my'improved construction 1s used.

On the other hand, it would be impossible to raise the level of the crushed stone in cases where the prior form of siphon shown in the Miller patent is used, and for the 1. following reason, which may be more clearly understood by the use o-f figures. Referring tothe device of the Miller patent, the ele-r vation of the nozzle orifices may, for convenience, be taken` as 100 feet above datum. With this figure as a basis, the system to operate properly would have the elevation of the lower extremity of the vent pipe H indicated as 102.17 feet and the level of the inverted discharge mouth, located at the upper end of the vertical return pipe, as 100.17 feet, or slightly above the level of the nozzle orifices. Now if it were desired to deepen the contact bed thus making it necessary toraise to the level: of the nozzle f., orifices, to say 101 feet, the. said level would 4now be approximately 10 inches above the ilevel' o-f the inverted discharge mouth. 0b- ;viously, the siphon would not be operable under these conditions for the liquid would stand at a higher level in the contact bed than the level of the said inverted discharge mouth.

' Now referring to my improved construc vtion, the possibilityQof such an alteration ymay be clearly set forth as follows: As bejfore, indicating the elevation ofthe nozzle *orifices by 100 feet and the elevation of the upper part of the bend at (Z2 of the vent pipe D, by 102.17 feet, which velevation repre-v sents the liquid level at which the siphon isv vented and its operation is interrupted. lf `it were desired in this case to increase the `depth of the bed, involving a correspond.-Y

`ing elevation of the nozzle orifices to say 101 feet, it would only be necessary to increase the liquid level at which the operation of the siphon is stopped. rfhis would be done by the use of an adjustable vent D, hereinbefore mentioned, and as described in the patent to Miller, No. 1,037,791. r

By raising the adjustable portion or in vert of the bend at Z2 the level of the same can be made to be at 103.17 feet, or, in other words, the elevation at which the siphon is vented is at the same distance above the elevation of the nozzle orifices as before, so that the operation of the system willnot be affected by the increase in the elevation of the said nozzle orifices. This feature adds greatly to the fiexibility of the systemand permits important and material alterations tov be made after the system has been in-`v` stalled. This feature is obviouslylacking in a systemy employing the prior form of siphon, in which such alteration would involve a large amount ofv labor and expense.

Knowing that the details of construction of my device may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention, 1 do not wish to be limited to the V construction hereinbefore described and shown in the drawings, except sofar as set forth in the appendedy claims.

I' claim as my invention- 1. ln an apparatus for the purpose stated, the combination with a receptacle and a surface to be sprayed, of a siphon for discharging the contents of said receptacle, a liquid delivery pipe connected with the lower end of the discharge limb of the siphon and forming a continuation thereof, said delivery pipe extending therefrom beneath the 4surface to be sprayed, and a riser communicating at its lower end with said delivery pipe and provided at its upper end with a spray nozzle, said riser being adapted to form with said discharge limb and the intermediate portion of the delivery pipe, a seal or trap for the siphon.

2. In an apparatus for the purpose stated,V

the combination with a receptacle, of a siphon for discharging the contents of said receptacle, a liquid transmission pipe connected with the lower extremity of the discharge limb of the siphon and forming a continuation thereof, and a plurality of risers communicating at their lower ends with said transmission pipe and provided at their upper ends with spray nozzles; said risers being adapted to form with the said discharge limb of the siphon and the transmission pipe, a deep seal or trap for the siphon.

3. In an apparatus for the purpose stated, the combination with a receptacle, of a siphon for discharging the contents of said receptacle, a horizontally arranged transmission pipe connected with the lower end of the discharge limb of the siphon, and forming a continuation thereof, a plurality of risers communicating at their lower ends with said transmission pipe, said risers having an aggregate cross-sectional area not less than that of the discharge limb of the siphon and adapted to form with said discharge limb and the transmission pipe, a deep seal or trap for the siphon.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose stated, the combination with a receptacle and a surface to be sprayed, of a siphon for discharging the contents of said receptacle, a liquid transmission pipe connected with the lower end of the discharge limb of the siphon and extending therefrom beneath the level of the top of lthe surface to be sprayed, a plurality of risers communicating at their lower ends with said transmission pipe, and' spray nozzles upon the upper ends of said risers, said risers constituting with the said discharge limb and the transmission pipe, a deep seal or trap for the siphon.

5. In an apparatus for the purpose stated, the combination with a receptacle and a surface te be sprayed, of a siphon for discharging the contents of said receptacle, a liquid transmission pipe connected with the lower end of the discharge limb of the siphon, and extending therefrom beneath the level of the top of said surface to be sprayed, a plurality of branch pipes extend- :ing laterally from said transmission pipe, and risers connected at their lower ends with said branch pipes and provided with spray nozzles at their upper ends, said risers constituting with the said discharge limb of the siphon and the transmission pipe, a deep seal or trap for the siphon.

6. In an apparatus for the purpose stated,

the combination with a receptacle, of a siphon adapted to discharge the liquid from the said receptacle and provided with a downwardly extending discharge limb extending through the floor of the receptacle, a horizontal liquid transmission pipe connected with the lower end of said discharge limb of the siphon and forming a continuation thereof, a plurality of branch pipes extending laterally from said transmission pipe, a plurality of risers connected at their lower ends with said bra uch pipes, said risers being provided at their upper ends with spray nozzles located in the same horizontal plane, the said risers having an aggregate cross-sectional area not less than the cross-sectional area of the discharge limb of the siphon, and the horizontal plane of said nozzles being so related to that of the lower edge of the receiving limb of the siphon, as to form with the discharge limb of the siphon and the liquid transmission pipe, a deep seal or trap for the siphon.

7. In an apparatus for the purpose stated, the combination with a receptacle, and a surface to be sprayed, the level of which is below that of the lIloor of the receptacle, of a siphon having the lower edge of its intake limb adjacent to the floor of the receptacle and having its discharge limb arranged to extend downwardly through said floor, a horizontally arranged liquid transmission pipe connected with the lower extremity of said discharge limb and extending below the level of the top of said surface to be sprayed, a plurality of branch pipes extending laterally from said liquid transmission pipe, a plurality of risers connected at their lower ends with said branch pipes and provided at their upper ends above the top of the bed, with spray nozzles, located in a horizontal plane slightly below the floor level of the said receptacle, the combined cross-sectional areas of said risers being substantially equal to or greater than that of the discharge limb of the siphon, and said risers constituting, with the said discharge limb of the siphon and the transmission pipe, a seal or trap for the siphon.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aliix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of February A. I). 1913.

EDVARD S. CHASE.

"Witnesses:

G. LEONARD Kns'rNnR, HOWARD S. Gelman.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

` Washington, D. C. 

